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188th Hopes To Leverage Role In Joint Training

Times Record Staff

While the Air Force chief of staff was in Fort Smith on Friday, he took an aerial tour of Fort Chaffee and observed close-air support training with the 188th Fighter Wing’s A-10s and attack controllers with the Air Force’s 22nd Special Tactics Squadron.

Gen. Mark Welsh III said at a Friday news conference that his visit did not change plans to replace the 188th’s A-10 Thunderbolt II mission with a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper mission.

However, the 188th also communicated to Welsh the importance of the unique Special Forces training conducted regularly at Razorback Range just minutes away at Fort Chaffee, and pitched its ability to potentially take on new fighter missions in the future such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, according to a news release from the office of the 188th commander.

The 188th trains hundreds of attack controllers for the U.S. Army Rangers, Navy SEALS and Air Force Special Ops each year. Representatives from each was present at Friday’s meeting with Welsh, the release states.

Maj. Jay Spohn, former 188th pilot, talked about the importance of the 188th’s ranges and airspace, how his training with Special Forces at the 188th was unique and how the unit is a good fit for fifth generation multi-role fighters. Spohn was the first Air National Guard pilot selected to fly the F-35.

“The training that I got at the 188th is something you can’t duplicate anywhere else,” Spohn stated in the release. “Its ranges, airspace and the ability to train with JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack Controllers) regularly is invaluable training to the warfighters on the ground and to the pilots providing close-air support. You simply can’t beat it.”

Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation were involved with Friday’s meeting, and said they will work toward “the very best possible circumstance” for 188th airmen.

“A remotely piloted aircraft mission, surrounded by any other ancillary-type missions to go with it, to build the very best circumstances in going forward,” is how Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, put it.

Despite not changing Welsh’s mind, the visit was still important, Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said, because it showed him the capabilities and resources available at the 188th and in the surrounding community.

“It was important for them to see what they’ve got for future training and future missions,” Boozman said Friday.

Under the plan, the 188th will likely add a targeting squadron and intel group, and it will plus up in other areas, the 188th release states.

“The intent would be — in every way possible — to keep as many people as possible who currently wear the 188th Fighter Wing badge assigned to the 188th Reconnaissance Wing, if that’s what it ends up being,” Welsh said Friday.

But under the current plan, the 188th would lose its maintenance group, which consists of about 400 airmen, the release states. Manpower studies suggest the 188th’s loss of military positions will be small, but no information is available on the full-time manning.

“The intent is not for the unit to go away,” Welsh said. “And one of the things that I think everybody involved in the whole discussion will tell you is that the strength of the 188th Fighter Wing is not the hardware on the ramp, it’s the people who make it work: The people who fix it and fly it, and deal with the imperfections of the mission and somehow accomplish it anyway. They’ve always been the excellence of this organization.

“Someone who worked on a specific system on the old plane thinks they don’t have any jobs in the new one, but they do. They transition to a new mission, keep doing great stuff.”

Welsh said the drone mission is a “great mission” and a “growing mission” that will be a big part of the future. He noted the Air Force is now training more drone pilots than fixed-wing pilots, and drones are being flown all over the world every day.

“We had a great visit and some very candid conversations about the future of A-10s and the future of the 188th,” said Col. Mark Anderson, 188th commander. “We understand the Air Force is facing tough decisions. But even in our disappointment that we will likely no longer have A-10s, we also understand how important it is to have a mission. And the bottom line is that we will have a mission at the 188th, and it’s an emerging mission that keeps us in the fight and engaged in helping defend our nation.”

Welsh said the Air National Guard’s Capstone Principle of one flying wing per state would likely be the decisive factor that prompts the 188th’s transition to remotely piloted aircraft.

“The director of the Air Guard and the state adjutants general are going to have to have a discussion about how they think the best posture of the force nationwide is, and I respect their views on it,” Welsh said.

Of the five A-10 wings in the Air National Guard, the 188th is the only unit slated to change missions, the 188th release states. The A-10 wings based in Idaho, Michigan, Indiana and Maryland were spared because they were the state’s lone Air National Guard flying mission.

“Well, right now in the National Defense Authorization Act, the intent is for the 188th to transition,” Welsh said. “Now we will look at the long-range look for the entire Guard in this next nine-month forecast.”

Welsh said once the act is finalized, the Air Force will have a more accurate gauge of exactly when the 188th’s conversion to the drone mission will begin.

“Once we have the final congressional decisions and once we have the paperwork complete, then we will move forward with an appropriations bill that allows us to do that,” Welsh said.